A prisoner who stabbed a woman in the face with a set of keys while she held her baby has been brutally attacked with a sharpened spoon in Wheatfield Prison.

Gary Hanley (26), from North Clarence Street in Dublin city, was jumped yesterday by a gang of three inmates in plain view of prison guards who were escorting him from a committal interview yesterday.

The attack, in which Hanley was stabbed repeatedly in the head, face and neck, was also captured on CCTV as the prison staff fought to drag the attackers away.

Hanley was transferred from Mountjoy to Wheatfield Prison last Monday and it is thought his attackers knew he would have to attend a committal interview and monitored the area knowing he would appear at some stage.

One of the prisoners behind the attack is believed to be double killer Gary Howard (27) of Emerald Street in the inner city, serving double life for shooting dead Patrick Mooney (58) and Brendan Molyneux (46) in Mooney's Pearse House flat in 2010.

Hanley and his attackers have previously clashed and he is viewed as being in the 'at risk' category, facing threats from as many as 20 prisoners in the prison system.

But just minutes before yesterday's attack he had told prison staff he did not require protected status.

Despite this it was decided Hanley should be escorted back to his cell but the attack took place even though the gang of three knew they could be seen and identified

"The inmates literally jumped on him as he was being walked back to his cell," said one source.

"The officers reacted instantly but the damage had already been done," they added.

Hanley lost a lot of blood at the scene and is in a serious condition in hospital.

He has more than 30 convictions, and was given a four-year sentence in 2009 for stabbing a woman in the face outside Clontarf Dart station as she held her baby.

The victim of the attack required 20 stitches to her face and has two permanent scars.

The court had heard how the victim was outside Clontarf Station when Hanley jumped out of a car and came towards her with the keys.

He pulled her to the ground by the hair and stabbed her several times above her left eye and below her left ear.

While doing this, he called her a "bitch" and said: "Next time you will get it in the heart".

Each of Hanley's attackers could now be facing up to six additional years behind bars if convicted of assault causing serious harm, or more if convicted of attempted murder.